The Memoirs of Sanford Ingleberry
by lightening816
Summary: Set sixty years after the fall of the Gangreen Gang, its last surviving member records his memoirs, recalling the night that changed his life and the events thereafter. Read and Review please!
1. The Family

The Memoirs of Sanford Ingleberry

The years went on and on. Would they ever stop, he could not say. The only thing his old eyes could see was a white room all around him. He noticed his old, frail body in a comfortable, white bed. Feeling the gentle sheets covering his fragile body made him feel like he had already died and went to that place in the sky that he had learned existed back when he was a much younger man. The old man looked at his hands and saw wrinkled pale green skin. His blue veins were clearly visible through his green hands. He remembered a time when his hands were much younger and much easier to grab various objects with, but that was a long time ago.

After he took his eyes off his hands, he caught a glimpse of a mirror that stood right beside his bed. His weak hands grabbed the small silver mirror and he saw his reflection. He saw an old man with an old, long, pale green face. After all these years, he still had the characteristics of a snake. His forked tongue, long snake like face, the skinny body, it was all still there. He also noticed his long white hair that had once been black. He missed that black color. It was the same color of most of the members of the gang he lost.

The room he stayed in was a hospital room that had a few people there that were definitely no doctors. Some of the people looked too young, others definitely were too young, others seemed like the proper age, but they did not look it. Like the old man, most of the people in the room with him had green skin, reptilian features, and most had the dark hair the old man used to have. They took notice of him and smiled.

"I think dad's finally awake," said one of the people. This person was a man in his late forties. He had black hair with a few silver strands stuck there. His reptilian looking face grew a huge smile (his name was Bill). When these boys were born, the old man in the hospital bed suggested these names to their parents, his sons and daughters and his son and daughter-in-laws.

"Oh, thank goodness! I thought we'd lost him for good this time!" replied another one of them, an Asian woman with shoulder length dark brown hair (she is his wife, by the way). He touched the shoulder of the first green man.

The old man looked at the people staring at him. One of the younger people stepped forward to him and held his old hand. The youngster was a 15 year old girl with green skin and dark brown hair.

"Grandpa, it's us," she whispered. The old man gazed at her and smiled.

"I knowsss it'ssss yousss, Lillian," he said in an old raspy voice. He put the hand the girl was not holding and placed it on his granddaughter's head in affection. He rubbed it gently as he looked at the others who were smiling.

There was the first green man, the Asian (whose name was Tanya), and then Lillian. After them, there a few who shared the green skin, and there were others who were not. After them, there was an older woman in her mid forties with green skin, black hair and grey strands named Ivy (there was also her husband, Ben, who had beige skin. He was the old man's son-in-law), there were young green and fair skinned people as well, a fair skinned young man about 19 named Harris, a green skinned girl with reptilian features, about 17 with light red hair named Kim, a fair skinned girl about 16 with black hair named Hannah, three others, one pregnant woman with blonde hair and peach skin, and about 20 years old (Ingrid), her husband a green skinned man named Viper, and a very old woman fair, but wrinkled skin, and white hair that had once been light red, Michelle, and finally there 5 young children of 5, 7, and 8 years old (there names were Alicia, an beige skinned girl of 7 years, Arturo, who was a green skinned boy of 5 years, an 8 year old green boy named Ace, a 7 year old green boy named John, whose nickname was Grubber, and another 7 year old green boy named Billy, who was named after his uncle Bill, who was mentioned above). When the boys were born, the old man in the hospital bed suggested these names to their parents, his sons and daughters and his son and daughter-in-laws.

They were being watched by their mothers and fathers, who were the older brothers and sisters of Harris, Kim, Hannah, and Lillian. Three of the mothers had green skin and had red and black hair, one of the mothers was a beige skinned woman with black hair, and the only 1 of the fathers had beige skin and the other three had green skin and black and red hair.

The old man in the hospital bed opened his arms.

"I wantsss the ressst of my grandkidsss and my great grandkidsss to get around me," whispered the old man. Harris, Kim, and Hannah started coming forward and surrounded him along with Lillian.

"I wantsss to tell yousss another ssstory. Isss can'tsss remember if I've toldsss yousss thissss one, so I hopesss not," said the old man.

"A story? What's it about?" asked Lillian.

"Is this another 'back when I was a boy' story?" asked Harris.

"This isn't another story of your gang days, is it?" asked Hannah.

"Yesss, it'sss a ssstory aboutsss when I was boy and of my gang daysss. I was aboutsss Lillian'ssss age," replied the man. "Now when I wasss a boy, it wasss a 'dog eat puppy' world. At least that'sss what it wasss kind of like in thosssse dayssss. Before the daysss of thossse Powerpuffsss Girlsss, Townsssville wasss rough placsssse to live. But after theysss came, the crime ratesss changed alotsss. But even before thossse daysss, I wasss apart of the gang. Yousss all remembersss the name of our gang, rightsss?" explained the old man.

"Yeah! The gang's name was The Gangreen Gang and your name was 'Snake', right?" asked Hannah.

"That'sss right. Thossse were the daysss, back when I used to vandalize, steal, and get hit all the time by the leader, Ace, but…" replied old man Snake.

"But then that didn't last forever, right?" interrupted Ace.

"Yeah, now don'tsss interrupt me," replied old Snake.

"Sorry, Grandpa," returned Ace.

"It'sss okaysss. Nowsss where wasss I? Have I ever toldsss you the ssstory of how we firsssst met the powerpuff girlsss? No…, well then let me tellsss yousss. Now back in thossse daysss, the powerpuff girlsss jussst came into our livesss and ssstarted ruining all of our…'fun' if you willsss. I remember the firssst time we ever sssaw them," explained old Snake.

"How _did _you meet them, great grandpa?" asked Arturo.

"Well, there wasss thisss one night that wasss really raining, with thunder and the lightningsss and everything! Remember, I wass only 15 when thisss happened. You sssee, the daysss before, the powerpuff girlsss had made themselvesss known to Townsssville, who jussst thought they were jussst bug eyed freaks! Anyway, that nightsss, we were hanging outsss in an alleyway. One of the gang memberss, Lil Arturo, whom I named you after, my great grandson," he said as he looked at young Arturo. "It had jussst ssstarted raining and Arturo had ssseen the powerpuffsss coming to the alleysss. I remember the exact thing he told our leader, Ace. Seemsss like long ago," he said as he began to see a flashback flash before him.


	2. Stories and Final Wishes

--

It was pouring with rain that dark night as 15 year old Snake, Big Billy, and Grubber saw Lil Arturo scurry to the back of a Mack Super-Liner truck they were hiding in. Arturo rushed into the back, panting and gasping for breath. His fellow gang members looked at him and took notice of his panting.

"Hey, Arturo, take a breath, will ya?" said Ace suddenly. Arturo looked at him and reached back his breath.

"Hey, Ace, those bug eyed girls who destroyed Townsville are walking around outside. I heard them talking about not knowing where they were and how bad their day's been. They're coming towards our alleyway. Should we do something?" explained the short teenager.

Ace remained silent, thinking about what to do, for a little while and then finally spoke up.

"If they come through here, we'll ambush 'em. I wanna see how destructive they're made out to be," he said with a smile.

--

"And that'sss exsssactly what happened. We ambushed the girlsss, but they didn't ussse their powersss on usss. We didn't know whysss, but we were glad. But then a flying garbage can lid flew outta no wheresss and knocked ussss out cold. We didn't wakesss up until the nexssst morningsss. It wasssn't untilsss a few dayssss latersss when we ssssaw thossse girlsss again, thisss time, usssing their powersss. They sssent us to jail and we ssshared a sssscell with Mojo Jojo and Fuzzy Lumpkinsss. We'd been fighting them ever sssince," explained old Snake.

The teens and kids were enjoyed the story they heard.

"Did I ever tell yousss about the time we got sssuperpowersss?" asked old Snake.

"You told that one to us 3 times before," said Billy.

"Oh…" said old Snake.

Then, old Snake began to cough violently. His grandchildren and great grandchildren backed away, hoping not to get his old germs on them.

Tanya, Bill's wife, stepped forward and led them away.

"Kids, he needs some rest. I think you need to let him have his space. How about you kids go and get yourselves something to drink from the machines?" she said as she pulled out some money..

"Oh, Tanya, it'sss okaysss," said the old green man.

"No, dad, I really think so. Come on, kids, let's go," she replied.

The grandchildren and great grandchildren looked back and gave their old family member a hug and kiss goodbye.

First, it was Lillian, then Harris, Kim, Hannah, and then Alicia. After them came the boys. After making sure the grandchildren and great grandchildren were out of the room, the old man gathered the young boys around him and whispered to them.

"You know, I see so much of my old fellow gang membersss in you boysss. I guesss that'sss why when I foundsss out you were all going to be boysss, I suggested your namessss when you were born," whispered the old man. The boys nodded, knowing they had been told this before. John put his mouth to his Great grandpa's ear.

"But Papa Sanford, does this mean you love us more than everyone else. I think that's favoritism," he said. Old Snake shook his old head.

"Oh no, I love all membersss of my family equally. That'sss why I wantsss yousss, Alicia, Kim, Harris, Hannah, Lillian, along with your mothers, my granddaughtersss, Lindsey, Katharine, Wendi, and my granddaughter in law, Taylor, and my grandson, Trent, and grandsons in lawsss, Tom, Sssam, and Ssspencer, who're your fathersss," replied the old man.

"We know that, grandpa," said young Ace.

Snake's son, Bill, stepped up and led them away.

"Alright kidss, you should go," said Bill.

The little green boys were led out of the room. As they went away, they waved their goodbyes.

"We love you, great grandpa," said young Arturo.

"I love you too, boysss," replied old Snake.

When the boys left the room, old Snake turned his head to the side and sighed.

"I don'tsss have much time left, do I'sss?" asked the old man. Michelle, the old fair skinned woman sat on the bed with him.

"I'm afraid not, dear," she said as she took hold of her old husband's hand. The older woman in her mid forties with green skin, black hair and grey strands named Ivy, began to let tears run down her eyes. Old Snake looked up at her and tried to comfort his daughter.

"Don'tsss worry, Ivy. We'll sssee each other againsss sssoon," he said. Ivy hugged her old father tightly.

"But, dad, I don't wantss you to go," she sobbed. Her husband, Ben, touched her shoulder in comfort.

Bill started weeping as well. He did not want his father to go either. Then his wife, Tanya, wept, then Snake's wife, Michelle, then Ingrid wept, and soon everyone was weeping. Seeing his family weep made old Snake weep as well.

After all of the weeping began to cease, old Snake began to make his last comments.

"Bill…" he said. His son stepped up.

"Yesss, sir," replied Bill.

"You're the head of thisss family now. Take care of them, underssstand?" said the old man. Bill bowed his head.

"Yes, dad," he said, his voice cracking.

"Tanya…" said the old man. His daughter in law stepped up.

"Yes, dad," she said.

"When you leave here, I want to look in the drawer in my bedroom. There you'll find my will, and what I'd like at my funeral. I trust you to find it," he said, knowing that Tanya was excellent at finding things. Tanya nodded and hugged him.

"Ivy…Ben…" said old Snake. His daughter and son in law stepped forward.

"I wantsss yousss to forgive your brother, Bill here, for breaking your doll when you two were little. I know after all thisss time, you ssstill haven't forgiven him…" he said. Ivy looked at Bill and smiled.

"Yes, father," she said.

"Ben…" whispered Snake.

"Yes, dad," replied Ben.

"Take care of Ivy. You know you both love each other," said the old man.

"Alright, I will," returned Ben.

"Michelle…" said the old man. Snake's wife stepped forward.

"Yes, Sanford?" asked his old wife.

"Don't forget me. No matter what happensss, jussst pleasse don't…" he said. Michelle kissed his hand.

"I love you," she said. Snake leaned over as hard as he could and kissed his wife.

"I love you too, Michelle," he said soothingly.

"Ingrid...Viper…" he said. The pregnant woman and her husband stepped forward.

"Yes, sir," they said.

"Whether that child of yoursss iss a boyss or a girlss, I wantsss yousss to let him/her know that Great Grandpa, Sanford/Snake lovesss him/her ssso much…" whispered old Snake. Ingrid and Viper smiled, with tears rolling down their eyes.

"Yes I will," they said.

"Taylor, Katharine, Wendi, Lindsey, Trent, Tom, Sssam, and Ssspencer…" said the old man.

The grandchildren and in-laws he spoke of stepped forward.

"Make sure those boys stay out of trouble. We love them, so make sure, please…" said old Snake. The grandchildren and in-laws nodded and then hugged and kissed their grandfather.

"Let me ressst. Pleassse…" said old Snake weakly.

His family did not want to leave him, but they did anyway.

After the family left, old Snake reached his old arm over the side of his bed and weakly pulled out an old brown book, which contained lined paper. Snake saw the black pen stuck in side the spiral of the notebook. He took it out, clicked the point up with his bony finger and opened the book up to a clear, clean page. He pressed the point of the pen. He started writing, and writing, and writing.


	3. The First of the Memoirs

_Dear Journal, _

_It's been a week since I've written in you. I've been in the hospital lately because of my gangrenous skin. My skin's always been the color green because of my gangrene, and though it hasn't been bothering me for these many years, it's finally caught up with me and has begun to really eat my flesh away like it's supposed to, so I' m glad that I've took hold of this opportunity because I don't know when I'll get an opportunity like this. I feel old, weak, and afraid. I'm 75 years old! How long am I going to keep living? I feel like this is the millionth time I've been here. This makes me discouraged and nervous. I want to live just a little while longer. Maybe I just want to see my great grandson or great granddaughter to be born from my dear grandson, Viper, and my lovely granddaughter in law, Ingrid. I want Ivy to forgive Bill. I want Bill to lead this family as I have. I want Ben to take care of Ivy. There's so much more I want as well, but all I can ask for is the happiness of my family. I pray they live long, happy lives. Luckily for them, theirs started when they were born. _

_Mine started sixty years ago when I was still about fifteen years old. I remember the day my life changed. It started out as a normal day. The five of us were just sitting by the big bridge that led in and out of Townsville. We weren't doing anything bad. We were just talking. I think I remember what we were talking about. I think we were talking about what we wanted to do. We didn't know whether we wanted to vandalize some property or hijack someone defenseless like small kids or an old lady or something. _

_While we were talking, we saw a young girl with light red hair. I didn't know it at the time, but that was actually Michelle, the girl I eventually married. Of course, I had to beg her for forgiveness after what we tried to do to her that day. When we saw her, Ace noticed her carrying a purse that looked like a wallet. We saw Ace pick up a rough looking stone. He started throwing, which made Arturo throw one, then Big Billy, then Grubber, and then, because I was too busy looking at Michelle, I was the last one to throw a stone, except mine was smaller, and not as rough as Ace's or any of the others' stones. I didn't know what came over me, but when I saw that light red hair and those dark blue eyes, I tried so hard not to physically hurt her. I was too cowardly not to tell the others not to throw such hard stones, but I was afraid Ace would hit like he usually did when I'd say something he wouldn't want to hear me say. Fortunately, the girl, Michelle, began to run away. In my head, I was secretly hearing myself think "Run, girl, RUN!!" Then, Ace said to start chasing after her. I didn't want to, but I did anyway, and so did Grubber, Arturo, and then Big Billy. I wanted to be in front of everyone so maybe; I could catch up with Michelle and help her find a hiding place. However, I didn't. Ace was too fast for me. Suddenly, we cornered poor Michelle. Looking at her beautiful face made me feel so bad for throwing stones at her. Michelle, then, began throwing things at us. This made Ace angry and made me worried. _

_We started taking more steps towards her and she backed away. She began crying for help, hoping the Powerpuff Girls would come along. That's exactly what happened. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup came. We suddenly felt them punching us, hitting us, and stinging us with laser beams shooting from our eyes. It hurt so bad, we were almost too weak to stand by the time they were finished with us. When they finally stopped, we looked up and saw Michelle running away with the girls flying right behind her. We hated those girls so much, we couldn't stand it! That was probably the millionth time they had beaten us up while we were out doing what we wanted to do._

_Fortunately for me, I was the first to regain my strength. While the others were still lying on the ground, I snuck away and followed Michelle to her home in the suburban area of Townsville. I had heard that this area was where the Powerpuff Girls lived. I did not know at the time if it was true or not, but if they did live there, I thought, so then I had to be careful and not let myself be seen. I disguised myself with leaves (not my best idea!). After disguising myself, I saw Michelle enter a nice friendly looking house. I ripped the leaves off me and tried to make myself look appropriate. I began to think to myself "What's come over me?" I didn't have time to answer my own question because I knew I just had to talk to her. A knocked on her door and, thankfully, Michelle answered it. When she saw me, she immediately recognized me and gasped in horror. She tried to slam the door in my face, but I propped the door opened with my foot. I begged her not to scream, yell, or tell anyone that a bad person was at the door. I told her that I just wanted to talk to her about today. _

_After finally persuading her to let me talk to her, she kept the door slightly opened and listened to me. I told her how sorry he was for throwing stones at her and that he never wanted to hurt her. Michelle looked at me with disbelief, so I picked up some flowers and gave them to her. She accepted them and smiled at them. I smiled too. I didn't understand why I was acting the way I did. Was I just trying to be nice? Of course I was truly sorry for what had happened. I'd never pick flowers! The only time when I'd ever pick flowers is if they were for a really pretty girl. Michelle was that pretty girl. Eventually, we both started making a pretty good conversation. I spoke in the friendliest way possible, knowing that Michelle still didn't trust me. I told her how I honestly didn't want to throw anything at her. I was too busy looking at her. I actually did tell her about looking at her. She was slightly flattered. _


	4. The Second of the Memoirs

_As the day passed, Michelle went from completely alert to very interested in our chat. We just talked and talked. I talked about my childhood (not a very happy one), my relationship with the gang, why I was with them and about our relationship as a gang and our relationship with the Powerpuff Girls. She talked about her life and how I shouldn't feel intimidated by Ace. I really didn't know what to say then, but I couldn't believe that in one day, I'd found someone I wouldn't mind talking about personal things with. _

_Unfortunately, we took up too much time and I realized that the others were probably either looking for me, causing more trouble, or just went back to our hideout in the dump. I told Michelle that I had to leave, so I waved goodbye and started looking in all the possible places they could've been. First I looked at the place where we were beaten up by the girls, and then I checked in the mini-mart, then the arcade, and then finally back at the dump. _

_I found them at the dump and when I found them in the little shack we had there, I made my appearance known, which led to staring. Everyone, Grubber, Big Billy, Arturo, and Ace were all looking at me. I still think even to this day that they were all thinking the same thing without knowing it: "Where's Snake been all day?" Ace, who was sitting down, stood up and asked where I had been. I didn't want to tell them that I had been talking to that girl we attacked, but I didn't want to lie to them either, so I sort of "stretched the truth". I told them that I just got up and started walking, and that when I found that I was near the suburban part of Townsville, I eventually turned around and came back here. I was afraid that if I had told them who I'd met, I would've gotten hit by Ace and I would've been asked even more questions that would've made me more nervous than I already was. After a couple seconds of silence and taking in my answer, they just turned back to what they were doing and with that, I sighed with relief. _

_After I sat down, taking in all of things Michelle had said to me, I watched as Grubber, Lil Arturo, and Big Billy fell asleep. After watching them fall asleep, I began to drift away into that same state, but then, suddenly, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I looked up and saw Ace looking at me. He wanted me to go outside with him. At first, I didn't know what to expect. It wasn't until I actually got outside when I realized what this was all about because the minute I came outside, Ace punched me so hard, I felt the ground hit me when he did. My eyes were closed for a short while until the dust finally settled. I looked and asked him why he had hit me. This wouldn't be the first time I had asked him this question. His reason would usually be because I said something that was wrong, stupid, or unnecessary. When I asked him this time, he said that he saw me talking to Michelle about us. I tried to play innocent with him, but it didn't work, because Ace had immediately said that after I left to see Michelle, he woke up just after I did and followed me to suburban Townsville. As Ace told me how he knew, my heart began to sink. He also told me that he heard me talking to Michelle and would've called me out for it if Lil Arturo, Big Billy, and Grubber hadn't caught up with me and asked him what was going on. Then he told me that when I'd go back to dump, Ace would bust me then. _

_When I tried to deny it, but Ace punched me harder. "Don't lie to me!" he said. I began shaking with fear, hoping that he wouldn't do anything more than just punches. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me forward. He was so angry; I couldn't do anything at first because he punching, slapping and yelling at me for just talking to her. There was so much pain in his attacks that I just stayed sitting on the ground after his final punch before I asked him why talking to Michelle was so bad. Ace gave me plenty of reasons. Michelle lived in the neighborhood as the Powerpuff Girls. Why would Michelle want to talk to me after what we did today? Michelle was just another kid that they'd pick on if they wanted to, so why try to be friends with her? These reasons and others reasons began pouring out of Ace's mouth. As the reasons kept coming out, I began to just sit there looking quite upset. I hated listening to him as he spoke. I just wished that he would just shut up and go away. As Ace kept lecturing me, I started to draw my attention away from him and began hearing a voice in my head saying "Sanford, you don't need to be living this sinful life. Come back, Sanford." I wanted to tell the voice that I went by Snake, but with Ace yelling at me it was hard to concentrate._

"_Are you even listenin' to me?!" he asked. When he asked this, I looked up at him with a glare. I got off the ground and stood up. I walked towards him and stared at him straight in the eye. "Well?" asked Ace harshly. "Have anythin' to say?" Oh yeah, there were definitely some things I wanted to say! I said them to him. I called him so many bad words; I could hardly count them all. "You bastard!" "You ass-hole!" "You jack-ass!" "You faggot!" I just let the bad words come out of my mouth like a flood. I remember yelling so loud; I was surprised that Arturo, Billy, and Grubber weren't awaken by the loud noise that was my voice. _

_I hated him so much at the time. After I had finished my vast amount of insults and bad words, Ace just stood there, looking even angrier. Ace didn't yell or anything when he gave me one simple question. "Are you done?" I stared at him, inhaling and exhaling, and shaking my fists that hung by my sides. I straightened up and sighed. "No," I said. The moment I said that, I did something I never thought I'd do. _

_I jumped on my leader's shoulders and began pulling on his head, biting him, pulling his hair, and then I did something no Gangreen Ganger had ever done. I ripped Ace's sunglasses, the symbol of my grief, off his face. I stared at the glasses as Ace tried to pull me off him. However, I held him as hard as I could. I wrapped my arm around his neck and made him watch me as I broke his glasses into two pieces. As I placed the glasses in my pocket, I noticed that Ace skin was turning from red to a reddish green. Ace suddenly threw me on the ground and jumped on me and began ripping me to shreds. We rolled on the ground attacking each other. Soon, Ace threw me to the ground, pulled out a switchblade that I've always known he had, and almost plunged me with it. Before he could, I turned my body around, hoping I'd avoid it. _


	5. The Third of the Memoirs

_Thank God I did. _

_Thoughts ran through my head as I used my feet to pull Ace away from me. It worked! When I pulled Ace from me, it was strong enough to make him fall on his back only inches away from me. He didn't move at all. I stared at him for a little then came up with the thought that he was just out cold. His fall wasn't hard enough to kill him, so, I thought that he was just knocked out. I turned my face from him and began to run away from the dump. I didn't think to go back to the shack to tell Arturo, Billy, or Grubber. I just wanted away from that terrible place. _

_As I ran, that little voice in my head began to speak to me again. "Sanford, I'm calling for you. Come to me." I stopped to listen to the voice as it spoke to me. "Where do I find you?" I asked the voice. "I'm right here. Talk to me, and I'll be your resting place." "I can't see you. How can I talk to you if you're not here?" I asked. "I don't need to show myself. Put your faith in Me and I will always be with you. I promise!" "I don't understand." "You don't have to." "How can I trust you?" I asked. "My love for you is more faithful than the morning." My eyes widened. Love me? He loves me? Who is this he? "You love me?" I asked shaking. "But I don't even know you!" The voice spoke to me clearly. As it spoke, I fell on my knees and listened. "Sanford, all your life, you've lived a life of sin and wickedness. You've given into temptation and you've let the ways of the world define you. Living this life will lead to nothingness. But if you believe in Me, I will take care of you. Though it will not be easy, in the end, you will be with Me in paradise. I will bless you and never let you fall to any temptation you can't bear." Hearing all these comments from this voice made me think of who this person was. "Are you God or something?" I asked, wondering. "Yes, Sanford."_

_The voice sounded convincing to me. I didn't quite understand then, but all I knew was that though I couldn't see him, but, I figured that if I didn't listen, I might regret it later, so I surrendered to him and said "Alright, I'll listen to you. Protect me, God. I believe in You, now, but how will I know if you're really here?" "I will show you, Sanford." "When?" I asked. "Soon," he said. Then I asked him "Why would you want to love and be with me? I'm scum. I bully little kids, raid mini-marts, steal stuff, and vandalize the streets with my friends. Why would you want to pay any attention to me?" I asked. I felt a sudden warm wind around me. "I reach out for you because I love all of those whom I have created. I knew you long before you were born and I've always known all the pain you'd endure, all the places you'd go, everything you'd say or do, and I even know the number of hairs on your head." _

"_I don't suppose you'll be calling me 'Snake' then, huh?" I asked._

"_SNAKE!!!" yelled an all too familiar voice. I turned around and saw a beaten Ace, still carrying the switchblade. I would've started shaking if I hadn't felt that warm air around me. "You've really done it now, Snake! I'm gonna make you wish you were never born!" I backed away, thinking about what he'd do, but then I thought about God and what He'd said. "What about him, God? And Arturo, Big Billy, and Grubber? What will become of them?" "I have a plan for them. Don't worry, Sanford, for I Am in control," said His voice. Suddenly, my back was facing a wall and I began to sink down to the ground. I didn't show any facial expression that told Ace I was afraid. Ace came towards looking as angry as ever. I didn't have anything to fight back with. I started looking up into the night sky and cried out for help, thinking that if I cried for help, God would hear me like He said He would. At first, there was no response, but then, Ace lifted up the switchblade and would have plunged me if it weren't for this great wind that began to blow in Ace's face. The wind was so hard; I had to hold on to my hat as my greasy long hair flew in my face. The wind started shaking some cars that just sat around us. The blustery wind actually began to pull Ace away from me. "Run, Sanford, run!" whispered His voice. While Ace was out of my reach because of the wind, I ran and ran, and ran some more. As the wind begin to die down, I looked back and saw Ace trying his hardest to follow me. When the wind's decreasing flow suddenly stopped, Ace felt the strong current stop which made him fall to his knees. He looked up at me and glared menacingly. "This ain't over, Snake," he said. I didn't say anything to him. _

_When he got to his feet, the switchblade still in hand, he still kept coming. I backed away quickly, but then witness something I'd never seen before. I saw Ace trip on a crooked piece of the sidewalk. I saw him fall down and roll into the middle of the street. When he fell in the street, I noticed a large 18 wheeler riding towards him. The truck was going so fast, it didn't look as if it couldn't be stopped. The only thing I could do was yell "Watch out, Ace!" Ace heard me and looked to see the truck speeding towards him. Before he could do anything, the truck seriously ran over Ace. The 18 heavy tires crunched his body, much to my disgust. The truck didn't even stop or slowed down. It just kept going. The driver must've thought that he had hit some road kill or something. I scurried to Ace's side and looked at him as he gazed at me. "Snake…you idiot…" he whispered as he reached for me with his fist and gave me one last little punch. As he tried to get up, the 18 wheeler was just too much for him. After all the pain he had put me through, the only thing I could say to him was this simple sentence: "My name is Sanford Ingleberry." _

_And that was that. _


	6. The Fourth of the Memoirs

_Ace died in my arms that night. Even though he had put me through hell, I couldn't help but mourn for him. He was my leader, my "friend", and so much more. Tears ran through my eyes as I looked at everything that had happened that day. I saw a girl, became entranced by her, apologized for my actions, talked to her, got busted by Ace, found God, and had just witnessed the death of the closest thing I had to a friend. I looked up at the sky and asked "Is this the plan you had for Ace? You just let him go crazy and let him get run over by an 18 wheeler!! Why, God?" The only thing I had heard was His voice saying "Fear not, Sanford. My plans are meant to give you a hope and a future. Trust me. I know what I'm doing," he said. I nodded and tried so hard to agree with this new Friend of mine. _

"_Go to your friends and tell them everything that has happened," God said to me. I didn't want to leave Ace, but as I held him, police cars started driving towards us with flashing lights. As they came, so did the Powerpuff Girls. When they saw me, they glared at me as they came towards me. "Snake! What have you done this time?!" asked Blossom, looking as tense as ever. Buttercup and Bubbles were right behind her, but it was Buttercup who first noticed Ace's dead body lying in my arms. _

"_Snake, what happened to Ace?" she asked fiercely. I sighed and told them that he was run over by an 18 wheeler and had just died. I hoped that they believed me. Bubbles was the first to believe me apparently. When I'd told them of Ace's death, she gasped and a tear ran down her face. "Why are you crying for him?" I asked. She told me that any type of death even to the likes Ace made her upset. Blossom looked at her sister and told her that death is just as normal as life. I nodded and agreed with her. Blossom shot a mean look at me. I figured that she still had her suspicions about what had really happened. While we were having what would be our last encounter, an ambulance came and two doctors came out on a stretcher. I told them that he was dead, and in doing so, the two doctors picked up Ace's dead body, placed it on the stretcher and placed a white sheet over him. I watched them pulled Ace away. That was the last time I ever saw Ace in physical form. "Goodbye, Ace," I said. _

_As I tear ran from my eye, I remembered what God had told me to do. I started to run away to my fellow Gangreen gangers, but the girls stopped me. I had to leave, but they wouldn't let me go. Blossom then pulled me up into air by my shirt and was about the beat me, but before she could lay a fist on me, she stopped at the last minute. Then, she lowered me to the ground and let me pass. I remember hearing Bubbles ask her why she didn't beat him. I stopped and looked back as I heard Blossom say "I'm not sure. It was as if I heard a voice say to let him go and let him return to his friends." I sighed with relief, remembering who it must have been who told her to let me go. The last thing I saw of the girls was Buttercup. I saw her watch the ambulance drive away. I noticed tears running down her face, probably remembering the history she knew she had with Ace. "I'm sorry, Buttercup," I said. Then, I turned away and ran back to the dump. I never saw the Powerpuff Girls again after that eventful night. _

_After I went back to the dump, I told the remaining members of the gang. Big Billy was the only one who believed me at first. As the three of us watched Big Billy sobbed with tears running down his face, Lil Arturo confirmed that he didn't believe me had his suspicions and as for Grubber, I could just tell from the look on his face and the way his raspberries sounded that he didn't believe me either. To prove I was telling the truth, I showed the scene of the accident. When we got there, there was already a drawing of Ace on the ground where he died. When Lil Arturo saw this, he buried his face in his small hands. Grubber stood before the scene of the accident speechless. Tears ran down his face though, a side of Grubber I had never seen before. Big Billy's emotions got the best of him and the moment he saw where Ace had died, he started wailing. _

_After the fiasco, Arturo and I went back into the shack and started arguing. He kept saying that it was my fault that Ace was dead. I tried to tell him that I didn't kill him, but Arturo still wanted to pick a fight. Grubber was blowing raspberries in a fit of rage, obviously supporting Arturo in this fight. Billy, however, was on nobody's side. Last time, we'd checked he was out in the dump digging around. He couldn't hear him dig anymore, so we just figured that he went out for a walk. While Arturo and I argued, my short friend put up his fists and threatened to fight. I stopped in my tracks and backed down from the fight. I tried to end the fight, but Arturo's anger consumed him and pushed me away. He announced that he no longer wanted to be apart of the Gangreen Gang, and charged out of the shack, with Grubber following him. I tried to catch up with them, but Arturo threatened me again, making me step back._

_After the two of them left, I just sat down in the dump and started talking to God again. "Now what do I do?" I asked. I was interrupted by the loud stomping of Big Billy. I looked up and saw him carrying four flowers and a body wrapped in cloth. "Who do you have there, Billy?" I asked. "Duh, I'm gonna give Ace a funeral," he said. My eyes widened. I stood up and smiled though. "Can I join you?" I asked. Billy nodded. "Yeah!" I smiled and witnessed Billy as he put Ace's dead, but wrapped up body in the hole he had made. _

"_What's this?" asked Lil Arturo as he passed by. He and Grubber saw Billy putting the body in the hole. "Billy just stole Ace's body. We're about to have a funeral for him. You can join us if you want," I said. We were still incredibly mad at each other, but Arturo and Grubber had every right to be at the funeral. _

_We were the only ones who were there for Ace at his funeral. Billy placed the body in the hole, and filled up the hole up, making it a mound. We found a large smooth stone in the dump, we wrote Ace's full name on it, and placed it on the mound. Billy gave us each a flower. Mine was blue, Arturo's was red, Grubber's was yellow, and Billy's was purple. Arturo stepped up and talked about how funny he thought Ace was. "Ace was though a bully, he seemed to make up laugh a lot, especially when he burped. I'll miss him a whole lot." He placed his flower on the mound and stepped back. Billy stepped up and talked about how Ace always seemed to know what to do. "Duh, whenever I was confused or somethin', Ace always knew what to do. How am I gonna know what to do now that he's gone! Thanks, Ace," he said sweetly as he put his flower down and stepped back. Grubber stepped and blew raspberries about how Ace was always really observant and how life will definitely won't be the same without him. "Pppbbbbhhhtttttt ppppbbbbhhhhttt ppppbbbhhhttt ppppbbbbhhhttt. Ppphhhhbbbttt!" he said. Grubber's speech was the most touching all of their speeches. Then finally it was my turn. I didn't know what to say at first. As the others looked at me, probably wondering what I was going to say, I glanced back at them and then looked back. I blinked and as my eyes opened, my eyes grew irritated and tear filled. When I closed my eyes again, a tear fell from them. "Despite what happened tonight, I'm really glad I've had the opportunity to meet you and hang out with you." I placed the flower on the mound and buried my face in my hands. Billy placed his large hand on my shoulder in comfort. I looked up at him smiled. _

_After paying our last respects to our leader, we took some old spray paint cans and spray painted a message on his tombstone. It was a good thing we knew his full name._

_ACE DAVID COPULAR_

_FRIEND, FIGHTER, AND LEADER OF THE GANGREEN GANG_

_October 2__nd__, 1981-March 19__th__, 1999_

"_We're gonna do it the Gangreen way." _


	7. The Fifth of the Memoirs

_After the funeral finally ended, Billy asked what we were going to do tomorrow. Arturo and Grubber left me to tell him the sad news. As my short "friend" and Grubber walked away for the last time, I told Billy the truth. _

"_I'm sorry, Billy. It's over," I said. Billy was downhearted. I tried to explain to him what I meant. The gang's years are over. _

"_Does it have to end?" asked Billy. I nodded. _

"_Yes, Big Billy…the years of Gangreen Gang are over…" _

_That was the night that changed everything. That night was the night of March 19__th__, exactly three months after we, as the Gangreen Gang, looked for the Key to the World, one of the last big things we did as a gang._

_Big Billy walked away and left the dump for good, leaving me all alone to pick up the pieces. _

_I went back into the shack and started trembling. I couldn't believe that I was right. It really was all over. In despair, I looked around and memories flashed through my eyes. I placed my hands in my pockets only to find Ace's glasses, still in two pieces. After staying in the shack for a very long time, I came out of the shack and looked around. I find some tape. I sat down and took two pieces of tape and repaired the glasses. I decided that despite all that had happened that night, I decided to place the glasses on his grave, in his remembrance. When I placed them on his grave, I noticed a green flower that wasn't there during the funeral. It was wrapped around by a string that held a small piece of paper. The paper read "To: the Gangreen Gang, From: Buttercup". I smiled at the beautiful green flower. One more person cared, and it was the last person in the world who should've cared. It was at that moment that I was actually glad that Buttercup was in our lives. _

_I finally realized that I was free from it all. I was free from hurt and pain, free from sin, and free from those harmful punches. Freedom is sweet, isn't it? _

_After the night, I went back to Michelle and told her about everything. Ace's attack, God's call to me, the funeral, and the flower from Buttercup. Michelle then offered to let me stay with her. She had told her parents about talking to me and nothing else. At first, they didn't trust me. I didn't blame them. However, I did stay with them. Shortly after I moved in, Michelle's father immediately decided to home school me. I told him I hadn't been in school since that truant officer, Jack Wednesday, picked me and the other Gangreen gangers up at the arcade that one time, but he decided to home school me anyway. He also taught me how to drive. I was old enough to learn anyway. When I was sixteen, we moved away from Townsville. _

_We moved to a town several miles away. It was a town that had this big beautiful building. The building looked like a boarding house, but it was guarded by a gate with said "Foster's" on the top. Whatever "Foster's" was, I'm glad I got the chance to take a look at it. This was also the age in which I got my first job. Who would've thought that sacking groceries at the local food mart would offer a good amount of money! _

_As my relationship with Michelle grew, my life began to change. At 18, I finally moved out of Michelle's house and got my own house only a couple of miles from hers. When I was 20, I began to try to persuade Michelle to see not as a friend, but as a possible love interest. After all, I was so interested in her. When I was 21, I got Michelle's mother and father permission to start dating her. Unfortunately, Michelle still thought of me as a friend, but I never gave up. It wasn't until it was almost my 22__nd__ birthday when I actually got her attention. One night, I left my house, went to Michelle's house (she had moved out of her parents' house when she was 20), woke her up and actually began singing to her. I sang some songs like "Let Love In" and "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, "Reason" by Hoobastank,"Far Away" by Nickelback, I basically sang any song I could think of. I was never much of a singer, but I could tell that she liked it. I also gave her flowers, gave her chocolate, basically anything that girls would like. After trying all that I could, one very breezy day in September, Michelle talked to me about all the things I'd done for her. I knew that she knew how I felt about her, so we started dating that very day: Mission Accomplished! One day, I remember it well; when I was about 23 years old, I officially told her that I loved her with all my heart. Michelle told me the same. We were the happiest people in the world! When we told Michelle's parents, they were pleased, which let me know that they finally trusted me, after all of the things I had done in the past. _

_After 12 years of hard work, I graduated high school at 27 years old. Instead of going to college, I decided to wait a few years, so that I could have the time to marry my lovely Michelle. I proposed to her in September, the same month in which I began dating Michelle those 4 years ago. While helping my fiancée and future in-laws, a stranger came to my home, claiming that he was my father! At first, I didn't know what to believe! But that was before he showed me my birth certificate! The certificate said the following. _

_NAME: Sanford Dennis Ingleberry_

_SEX: Male_

_COLOR: Green_

_DATE OF BIRTH: September 24__th__, 1983_

_PLACE OF BIRTH: Townsville Medical Center_

_FATHER'S NAME: Harris Ignatius Ingleberry_

_MOTHER'S NAME: Germaine Michaela Johnson Ingleberry _

_BIRTHPLACE: Townsville, USA_

_HEIGHT: 7'' _

_WEIGHT: 6 lbs. 3 oz._

_HAIR: Black_

_EYE COLOR: Brown_

_When I saw the document, I started asking my "father" what had happened to him. He told me that when he fell out of love with my mother, he did not want to see her again, but wanted to see me, but my mother wouldn't let him see me, or course this was a little while before my mother had died of her gangrene. I was pretty mad at him, but when I introduced him to Michelle and her family, they quickly warmed up to him, much quicker than I did. After getting to know the father I didn't think I'd never see again, I forgave him, and let him come to the wedding. _


	8. The Last of the Memoirs

_Speaking of which, Michelle and I were married on March 20__th__, 2011. That was also the day I was first given this wonderful journal by the way. At the time, it was the happiest day of my life…up until the birth of my son, Bill (I named him after Big Billy, because he was always so good to me), on December 18__th__, 2011. After him came my beautiful girl, Ivy. Oh how I love them both! And thus my family was born. _

_So that's all I can really say about my life. Once my real family was born, it just continued to grow and thrive. Even now as an old man, I still can't believe in just one day, I went from nasty teenaged punch victim, to a redeemed young man pursuing the one thing I not only wanted but needed, and got it. Of course, though the years of the Gangreen Gang are nothing but memories now, we still see each other, including Ace, in my dreams. In my dreams, we don't do anything wrong. We'd just hang out and talk, just talk. Then my dream would end, and I'd wake up next to Michelle in the morning._

_When I was about 45, the news channel started talking about an accidental fire that took place at an amusement park. When the newswoman talked about it, I heard her say something quite disturbing. "Considering today's incident, only two have been confirmed dead. The two unfortunate victims were a 43 year old man named Arturo De La Guerra and a 45 year old man named William W. Williams, though family and other friends who were with him that day claim that he went by Big Billy." When I heard her say that heart-breaking piece of news, I became sad and downhearted. Then, I saw some green people who must have been their long lost family and some friends say that they were going to give them a proper funeral. When I heard this, I took my wife and kids on a family trip to Townsville, where we all placed a flower on their graves. Though we ended our friendship on bad terms, I sure they wouldn't have minded if we paid our respects to them. After all, they were my friends. _

_Twenty years later, I heard more disturbing news. At 65 years old, I saw some more news saying that someone had died of a stroke in his Townsville home. My good friend, Grubber J. __Gribberish. I couldn't believe it when I realized it. I was the only live member of the Gangreen Gang left. _

_Of course, since the Gangreen Gang had influenced me so much, I even decided to tell some stories of back when I was a member of the gang. Because Bill and Ivy were so interested in my stories, I just kept telling them more and more. Then as the years went by, and started telling them to my grandkids, and now to my great grandkids. _

_At least now though the Gangreen Gang is no more, they will still continue to live on in my stories that will be passed down from Ingleberry to Ingleberry. _

_I've certainly written a lot today. I guess it's because I know I don't have much time left. I've decided to give this to Bill, so that my family will be able to write their own stories, just as I have. _

_Love, Sanford Dennis Ingleberry. _

Old Sanford closed the book, held it tightly, and stared out the window. He let the sun's rays hit him as he looked. As he stared, he began to see some familiar faces in the clouds. He watched and took notice of how the clouds formed to look like Ace, Big Billy, Lil, Arturo, and Grubber. He smiled an old wrinkled smile. He held up his hand and reached out for them, knowing he would never be able to reach them.

All of a sudden, he heard the door open and in came a nurse. The nurse was tall, lean, and had blonde hair tied in a bun.

"Hello, Mr. Ingleberry, how are you feeling today?" she asked sweetly.

"I feel old, weak, but I don't mind. I've just been looking back on some old memories," replied old Sanford. He looked at his book, then at the nurse.

"Nurse?" he said weakly. The nurse looked at him with a smile.

"Yes sir?" she replied. Sanford showed her the book.

"Will you please give this to my son, Bill? I want him to have this special journal. Tell him that he and the other members of my family are free to write in it," he said. The nurse gently took it from him.

"Yes sir, I will," she said nicely. Before she left, she placed a strap on his arm and took his blood pressure.

"Your blood pressure has decreased just slightly, sir. I'll go get Dr. Tal," she said. She took the strap off him and quickly left the room. She went to the nearest receptionist, asked her to give the book to Bill, which she did, and then went to find Dr. Tal.

As Sanford waited for the nurse, he looked back up into the sky. He could still see the formations of his former fellow gangsters. He put his head on his pillow and as he heard the monitor beside him beep, he began to grow weaker and weaker. His eyes grew heavier and heavier until finally Sanford could no longer hold them up.

The last thing he heard was the beeping of the monitor, as the beeping began to decrease. The beeping grew slower and slower. As Sanford began to realize what was happening, he smiled and took one final breath.

Being relieved of life on Earth and being called home by the same heavenly voice who called out to him so long ago, the last thing he saw was something he hadn't seen with his own two eyes in sixty years:

Ace, Lil Arturo, Big Billy, and Grubber looking back at him.

_The End_


End file.
